"In 1703 the Dutch brought form Ceylon to Europe a strange red stone called ‘Toramalli’ by the Sinhalese.", Guide in Color to Precious and Semiprecious Stones. Today this stone is called tourmaline. It is a complex stone; found in many colors: black, blue, red, pink, green. brown, yellow and clear. The most popular color is the deep pinkish red called rubellite…like the stones in this necklace.
The large stones in this necklace probably came from the Magok area of Burma known for producing fine rubellites according to Michael Poynder in his book; Price Guide to Jewellery.
These stones are s et in silver vermeil decorated with ocean pearls. Tourmaline was highly prized by the Chinese for centuries… it is on the list of stones that could only be used by members of the Royal Family in the Qing Dynasty.
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30 years ago a jewelry dealer showed me a beautiful tourmaline necklace…I loved it but it was a bit beyond my means at the time… of course I kept looking for another one… it took a long time but I am thrilled to find this one!!
Visit PrivateCollection’s PictureBook to see additional photos… many in larger formats.
